This past weekend’s “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” event drew strong ratings on Showtime, and the peak audience, which coincided with a headlining title fight between welterweight champion Nick Diaz and Paul Daley, resulted in 806,000 viewers.

Overall, the April 9 event averaged 528,000 viewers.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the figures with an industry source.

The event, which took place at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, continued Strikeforce’s strong run in 2011. Three of the organization’s four top-rated Showtime events now have been registered since the new year.

Overall, “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” registered the fourth-best ratings total in Strikeforce-Showtime history.

The five top-rated Strikeforce-Showtime shows, as compiled by MMAjunkie.com, include:

“Strikeforce: Silva vs. Fedor” (February 2011): 741,000 viewers

“Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg” (August 2009): 576,000

“Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg” (January 2011): 561,000

“Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” (April 2011): 528,000

“Strikeforce: Miami” (February 2010): 517,000

Strikeforce first began airing on Showtime, a premium-cable station with approximately 18 million subscribers, in April 2009. This past weekend’s show was the first since the promotion was acquired by its top rival, the UFC, which helped push the marketing efforts behind the event, which also saw lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez make quick work of Tatsuya Kawajiri in a title fight.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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